Advent is coming!

Okay, so Thanksgiving is still officially 8 days away, but I am SO looking forward to Advent! Please don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving. We'll be hosting my side of the family (and maybe my brother-in-law's family, too), eating lots of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and the pumpkin cheesecake I make every year, sitting around with full bellies, and listening to all the kids run around making memories. I love it!

But, every year I really can't wait for the day AFTER Thanksgiving. And no, I do not do Black Friday shopping. For our family, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the beginning of Advent. True, Advent formally begins on Sunday, December 1st, this year. For us, though, everything Christmas will begin on Friday, November 29th! That's when all the decorations come out. It's when I start playing Christmas music non-stop (although we did start listening to the all-Christmas radio station in the car earlier this month... the kids requested it and I figured, why not? Life is short). Starting that day, my children watch Christmas movies every chance they get (though Rudolph has already been viewed twice this month by my 3 year old). It is also the day I mail my Christmas cards, unless it's super early in November. The fact that Thanksgiving is so late this year makes me long for Advent all the more! It seems like the season will be too short.

My children know that our Advent calendar will be on our dining room buffet, filled not with treats, but with little slips of paper. Every morning during Advent, they take turns opening the little doors and reading the exciting news. I try to mix it up so we don't do all the same activities every year, but there are some standards that they know they can always expect. The years that find Thanksgiving much earlier, have more activities... We just put the November days' papers behind a door on the calendar that I mark with the specific date.

Below is my list of planned activities for this Advent. Of course, one must be flexible (just as we need to be with the ABC summer activities). Things come up, kids get sick, etc. I have everything saved on my computer in case I need to reprint a day's slip. And I never put the slips in the calendar ahead of time. I don't want to tempt anyone (I'm not naming names, but I may be referring to my oldest...) to look ahead at future dates. ;) Please feel free to steal or borrow my ideas! That's the point of this blog! (Yes, I do end all of these notes to the children with exclamation points - they love it)! Hee hee.

Nov. 29th - 26 days until Christmas - Today we'll be decorating the entire house! Later this afternoon, we'll be shopping for our first ever REAL Christmas tree!
Nov. 30th - 25 days until Christmas - Tonight we are going to the Spirit of the Season Kick-off at the Science Center of Iowa and watching The Polar Express in the IMAX theatre!
Dec. 1st - 24 days until Christmas - Today we will start the daily family devotions we got at Sunday School and this afternoon we will visit The Festival of Trees & Lights!
Dec. 2nd - 23 days until Christmas - After school today we will make treats for our neighbors!
Dec. 3rd - 22 days until Christmas - This afternoon between piano and drum lessons, we will go to the fire station to see Santa and watch the tree lighting!
Dec. 4th - 21 days until Christmas - Tonight we will watch the Rockefeller Tree Lighting on TV! (Note: this one is always extra special because our children are not usually allowed to watch TV after 5:30 on a school night)
Dec. 5th - 20 days until Christmas - Today we will deliver treats to our neighbors after school!
Dec. 6th - 19 days until Christmas - This afternoon we will make treats for Aunt Cindy's annual cookie party and make a few gingerbread boys & girls to keep here!
Dec. 7th - 18 days until Christmas - This morning is the dress rehearsal for the Christmas program and then we'll go to Aunt Cindy's for her annual cookie party!
Dec. 8th - 17 days until Christmas - Today is your Sunday School Christmas program at 2:00. Then we'll go to the uptown church for the Advent Festival and the family pizza dinner!
Dec. 9th - 16 days until Christmas - This afternoon we'll make treats for your teachers and then we'll go help set up the MOPS toy giveaway!
Dec. 10th - 15 days until Christmas - Today you will take the treats to your teachers and tonight is the MOPS toy giveaway!
Dec. 11th - 14 days until Christmas - Tonight we will drive through Jolly Holiday Lights!
Dec. 12th - 13 days until Christmas - Today after school we'll read a bunch of Christmas books and then it's Wendy's Night! (for those of you not in our school district, Wendy's Night is a school fundraiser)
Dec. 13th - 12 days until Christmas - Tonight we are going to watch a Christmas movie! (movie TBD... I think they've seen nearly every one there is...)
Dec. 14th - 11 days until Christmas - Today we will get out a new Christmas puzzle to work on over break!
Dec. 15th - 10 days until Christmas - We are going to make treats for tomorrow's Clover Kids/4-H cookie exchange and we'll call Nana to wish her a happy birthday!
Dec. 16th - 9 days until Christmas - This morning B & I will wrap some gifts and tonight is the Clover Kids/4-H caroling and cookie exchange!
Dec. 17th - 8 days until Christmas - After school today we'll play Christmas trivia and bingo!
Dec. 18th - 7 days until Christmas - Today you'll take your teachers their gifts and after school we'll each make an ornament for our trees!
Dec. 19th - 6 days until Christmas - This morning B gets to ride with a friend on the train at the mall and after school we'll all enjoy hot chocolate!
Dec. 20th - 5 days until Christmas - Today are the winter parties at school and we will wrap more gifts after school!
Dec. 21st - 4 days until Christmas - Tonight we will drive around town in our PJs looking at Christmas lights!
Dec. 22nd - 3 days until Christmas - If there is snow today, we will sled and build snowmen! (if not, there will be a Plan B still TBD...)
Dec. 23rd - 2 days until Christmas - Today we are going to see Frozen and enjoy some Christmas M&Ms in our popcorn!
Dec. 24th - 1 day until Christmas - Today we'll make cookies for Santa, read Twas the Night Before Christmas, and go to the Christmas Eve service at church!

Other ideas we've used in the past: ice skating, snow tubing, take treats or serve a meal at Trinity UMC, watch the National Tree Lighting, take toys to the fire station for Toys for Tots, make Christmas-y crafts (Santa beards, snowflakes, pretzel/gumdrop trees, etc.), visit big light displays like the one that used to be outside Pella or the one near Vinton, see Santa at the zoo, shop for an adopt-a-family, make snowman pancakes, etc. I'm sure you can think of many more!

It gets me so excited to get that all planned! Bring on the snow!

P.S. For those very few of you who follow this blog, my plan to "better" myself before Christmas is going pretty well. The first week was wonderful - time set aside to practice yoga for 7 straight days. Last week I drank well over half my body weight in ounces of water daily (I'm attempting to continue that one). This week I'm trying to cut back on the sugar. It's going okay, but I can do better. I'll really have to watch myself at MOPS this Friday as there are always so many yummy things to eat there! ;)

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*